TMC Newspaper Auditing Begins p.8

By: MARK FITZGERALD

178,178.

That number--which sings with a sprung rhythm appropriate to the inaugural occasion--is the first bottom-line of an Audit Bureau of Circulations audit of a total market coverage product.

Released during Audit Bureau's annual meeting in Toronto, the number comes from the"Supplemental Data Report/Average non-paid distribution" for Express Line, the TMC paper distributed by the Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City.

"We're very proud to be the first newspaper to undergo a TMC audit,"the Daily Oklahoman's advertising director, David Thompson, said. "We accepted the challenge of being the first with the expectation that TMC auditing will benefit the entire newspaper industry. As more newspapers audit their TMC products, advertisers can be assured that they are receiving the full value of their investments in nonsubscriber vehicles."

For the Audit Bureau, conducting the Oklahoma City TMC audit is also the first concrete result of several moves into nontraditional areas for the Schaumburg, III.-based auditing service.

In the next couple of years, the Audit Bureau--which for its first 82 years had focused exclusively on auditing paid circulation of newspapers and magazines--will start releasing audits of other nonpaid newspapers, World Wide Web sites and even trade show attendance and demographics.

Now that the Oklahoma beta test has been concluded, other Audit Bureau members will be able to have their TMC products audited beginning in March 1997, the Audit Bureau said.

There has been undeniable advertiser demand for TMC auditing.

"The advertising community has made it clear that audited information about TMC and nonpaid newspapers will improve business decisions,"Audit Bureau President Mike Lavery said.

That's the opinion of Matthew Spahn, manager of print media for Sears, Roebuck & Co.

"Frankly, the auditing of TMCs is even more important than the audit of paid products," Spahn said, "because TMCs aren't products sought after by the consumer and TMCs are delivered in a variety of ways, including mail and alternate delivery services. …